World History – Essential Understandings about Japan Janine Magidman WSCSS Convention 2011

Japan has adopted aspects of culture from other civilizations and then changed those aspects of culture to fit its own time, place, and beliefs. – Chinese influence: Prince Shotoku, Confucianism, Constitution, written language, architecture, legal system – (PowerPoint) – Western: Meiji Restoration School uniforms - into the current fashion craze – Japanese Schoolgirl confidential Makiko’s Diary: A Merchant Wife in 1910 Kyoto, ISBN – Christianity, Buddhism, Shinto co-existing – various sources

Japan has a dual nature – an Inner or Actual side, and an Outer or Formal side. – Power and authority: emperor v. shogun – Indirect expression of feelings – Feudal Japan class structure - n.htm n.htm – Preservation of harmony – Whiting, Robert. You Gotta Have Wa, X Edo/Tokugawa transformation from feudal to modern society - japanese-history/ japanese-history/ Program for Teaching Asia lesson plans

Japan has a strong sense of itself, of that which is Japanese, and of that which is not. – Tokugawa isolationism – Edicts from Tokugawa Ieyasu – Pre-war militarism and identity – excerpts from The Rise of Modern Japan, Menton et al. ISBN

Japan’s historical perceptions of the West and the West’s historical perceptions of Japan have defined Japan’s relationship with the world. – Influence of Jesuits – SPICE unit – Opening to the West – Opening to the West – Pacific Expansion WW II – excerpts from Menton text, and Dower, John. Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II, – Inquiry Lesson on the attack on Pearl Harbor – with data from Henshall, K. A History of Japan from Stone Age to Superpower, – “The Grave of the Fireflies” touching anime film about the firebombing of Kobe

The determination of what is “right” or “wrong” is less important that the preservation of harmony (wa). – Business relations – Social relations – Avoidance of conflict, confrontation – all in readings from The Japanese Mind: Understanding Contemporary Japanese Culture

Japan has idealized the nature and significance of historical figures and classes, much like other cultures have done. – Idealization of Samurai culture – “Seven Samurai” by Kurosawa (yes, they will watch it!) – Self-sacrifice of samurai heroes – Pan-Asian expansion – excerpts from Menton text and Dower